Rumor.....

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Well now I don't think they will be playing in New Orleans this year... because there isn't a New Orleans. I saw from CNN water creeping up to the dome....

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Rescuers in boats and helicopters struggled to reach hundreds of wet and bedraggled victims of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, while New Orleans slipped deeper into crisis as water began rising in the streets because of a levee breaks.

In New Orleans, water began rising in the streets Tuesday morning, swamping an estimated 80 percent of the city and prompting the evacuation of hotels and hospitals. The water was also rising perilously inside New Orleans' Superdome, and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the tens of thousands of people now huddled there and other shelters would have to be evacuated as well.

With work continuing on the new west upper deck, No. 5-ranked LSU is scheduled to open the season by hosting North Texas on Saturday.

"It looks like everything came through the storm very well," senior associate athletic director Dan Radakovich said. "Obviously we have to speak with the guys who do the work when they get back. But from the standpoint of us eyeballing the stadium and the grounds around it, it's in as good a shape as can be expected."

Construction crews suspended work Sunday on the $60 million west upper deck project, which was expected to be mostly usable for LSU's first two games and completely finished for its third game Sept. 24 against Tennessee.

The hurricane forced LSU coach Les Miles to juggle the Tigers' game week practice schedule. He said he gave the team Monday off and resumed practice Tuesday.

"We just hope like heck the people in New Orleans and elsewhere aren't too adversely affected by this," Miles said.

Hurricane Katrina forced the postponement Tuesday of two NCAA football games: Tulane vs. Southern Mississpippi in Hattiesburg and North Texas vs. Louisiana State in Baton Rouge.

The Tulane-Southern Mississippi game that was supposed to be played Sunday has been moved to the Saturday after Thanksgiving because of the problems caused by Katrina.

The North Texas-LSU game has not been rescheduled because the teams don't share an off day until Dec. 3, a day on which LSU could be playing in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Baton Rouge, however, didn't suffer near the damage that New Orleans and Hattiesburg did Monday.

"We have been in contact with the administrators for both universities and we all agree that the focus of our attention should be on the continued safety of the student-athletes, coaches and the lives of those affected by this storm," Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said Tuesday. "Playing a football game is not our highest priority at this time."

Tulane and Southern Miss were scheduled to end their seasons Nov. 19. Now, their opener will become their finale on Nov. 26.

ESPN2, which was to carry Sunday's game, told the conference it will still try honoring those plans.

The Green Wave football team, which had moved to Jackson, Miss., on Sunday, only to have Katrina move right through that city as well, spent Tuesday on a seven-hour bus ride to Dallas. The team will stay at a hotel near SMU and work out at the Mustangs' campus for the foreseeable future.

The Golden Eagles, whose campus also stood right in the path of the epic storm, have moved to Memphis, some five hours north. The team will stay at a hotel there and work out at the University of Memphis' facilities.

Banowsky said his office spent most of Tuesday serving as a help desk and clearinghouse for the two Conference USA schools. According to the commissioner, officials at both campuses could call out but not receive calls, so the league office helped coordinate the postponement of the game and the logistics of moving the teams.

The schools caught a break on scheduling. Not only were they scheduled to play each other Sept. 4, but both had been scheduled to have their season conclude on Nov. 19. That left Thanksgiving weekend available. In addition, with a Sunday game, Tulane had Saturday, Sept. 10, as an idle date, which gives the team more time to get its life together before the new start of its season on Sept. 17.

The larger picture, however, concerns what happens if school is postponed indefinitely. As New Orleans continued to fill with water on Tuesday, the possibility existed that Tulane may not open for a long time.

"It's too early to speculate whether schools will be closed three weeks or a month," Banowsky said from his office in Dallas. "People are still in an assessment mode."

Banowsky said the conference office blocked the hotel rooms for Tulane in Dallas for three weeks. He added that players will be allowed to return home to their families in the short term, and will then return to Dallas to resume practice. The NCAA allows the university to pay for the players' transportation home in such an emergency.

Not that I would put anything beyond Benson, but he's already sold 40 some-odd thousand season tickets to Louisiana residents. I'm sure that he's not inclined to pass out refunds when he simply has to move 90 miles north to keep most, if not all of those seats filled. Refunding $20 million and then trying to recoup that within the next 2 weeks would be difficult.

In addition, he can see what playing outdoors in Louisiana would do for the Saints. I'll bet he changes his tune on an open air stadium really fast...

The stadium issue has certainly taken a unpredicted turn. I'm torn between speaking on it now or later. I'd hope that those feeling the need to speak on it now will be tolerated as this is a Saints Football forum.

Speak Tally speak. The best idea I heard was someone suggesting we build a new stadium/hurricane evacuation center. Two birds with one stone. Win win. We can use government aid towards it as well. I don't see how this is a bad idea. BUT, the question is, where to build it.

Hmm...well. My first thought is the State of Louisiana's, and many folks camped out on their roofs tonight, are putting a new Saints stadium way down their lists. Financial and otherwise. My second thought is our beloved owner, despite dangling a carrot with a possibility of playing games elsewhere this year, best say tommorrow he's committed to keeping the Saints in 'Nawlins.... or he'll be a bigger some***** than he is now.

My heart go out to people south of lousiana & mississippi but I seriously doubt the saint will be playing this year or next year in the city of nawlins. If you are not affected by Katrina you will be tomorrow with the price of gas.